Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Phocus)
marks the centre of the Piazza del Foro, the Forum's main market and meeting
place.
The eight granite columns behind the Colonna are all that remain of the
Tempio di
that doubled as the state treasury.
Passing over to the path parallel to Via Sacra, you'll see the stubby ruins of the
Basilica
Augustus. At the end of the basilica are three columns of the
Tempio di Castore e Polluce
mark the defeat of the Etruscan Tarquins in 489 BC. To the south, the
Chiesa di Santa Maria
Vestal Virgins)
, home of the virgins who tended the sacred flame in the adjoining
Tempio di
The six virgin priestesses were selected from patrician families when aged between six
and 10 to serve in the temple for 30 years. If the flame in the temple went out, the priest-
ess responsible would be flogged, and if she lost her virginity she would be buried alive,
since her blood couldn't be spilled. The offending man would be flogged to death.
Costantino)
, the largest building on the Forum. Started by the Emperor Maxentius and fin-
ished by Constantine in 315 - it's also known as the Basilica di Costantino - it originally
covered an area of approximately 100m by 65m. A colossal statue of Constantine, pieces
of which are on display at the Capitoline Museums, was unearthed here in 1487.
AD 81 to celebrate Vespasian and Titus' victories against Jerusalem. In the past, Roman
Jews would avoid passing under this arch, the historical symbol of the beginning of the
Diaspora.